Bubble gun



March 14, 1961 R. HOPKINS BUBBLE GUN Filed April 27, 1959 Z/CHAZD HOPKINS ATTORNEYS 55mm ag-F BUBBLE GUN Richard Hopkins, Fairview, Pa., assignor t Louis Marx & Company, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Apr. 27, 1959, Ser. No. 809,040

11 Claims. (Cl. 46-8) This invention relates to toy guns, and more specifically to a bubble blowing gun.

Such guns have already been suggested, and have the advantage of being harmless. The primary object of the present invention is to generally improve such guns.

A more specific object is to improve and simplify the mechanism for presenting bubble liquid in front of the muzzle. Another object is to provide a continuous sustained stream of air through the barrel of the gun so that bubbles will be formed in rapid succession or simulated bursts. To further this illusion the gun body is preferably made in the form of a submachine gun.

To accomplish the foregoing general objects, and other more specific objects which will hereinafter appear, my invention resides in the bubble gun elements and their relation one to another as are hereinafter more particularly described in the following specification. The specification is accompanied by a drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is an end view of a gun embodying features of my invention, looking toward the muzzle of the gun;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section taken approximately between the halves of the gun body;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the forward portion of the gun;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section taken in'the plane of the line 44 of Fig. 2, and drawn to enlarged scale;

Fig. 5 is a section through the bubble liquid container taken approximately in the plane of the line 5--5 of Fig. 2, and drawn to enlarged scale;

Fig. 6 shows the impeller rotor of the blower;

Fig. 7 is a horizontal section taken approximately in the plane of the line 77 of Fig. 2 and drawn to enlarged scale;

Fig. 8 is a vertical section taken approximately in the plane of the line 88 of Fig. 7; s V

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary horizontal section at the line 9-9 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary elevation looking in the same direction as Fig. 2, but showing the openings through the exterior of the gun at the blower.

.Referring to the drawing, and more particularly to Fig. 2, the bubble gun comprises a gun body simulating a barrel 12, a stock 14 and a forward grip l6 beneath the barrel. There is also a container 18 beneath the muzzle of the gun for bubble liquid, and a lever having a forward part 26 overlying the barrel, and a rear part 22 passing downwardly through the barrel and through a part of the forward grip 16. The lever is pivoted at 24, and carries a bubble ring 26 fixed on the forward 'end 28 of the lever ahead of the muzzle.

The rear part 22 of the lever projects at least partially from the grip 16 when the forward part 20 is down, but

"the rear part is movable into the grip as shown at 22 in order to raise the forward part to the position 20' when the grip is squeezed or clasped in one hand. The proportioning of the parts is such that the bubble ring 26 is moved between a down position immersed in the bubble liquid 30 in container 18, and an up position 26 ,in front of the muzzle.

Patented Mar. 14, 1961 The gun further comprises means to blow air through the barrel 12, and this preferably provides a continuous sustained stream of air which blows a series of bubbles until the supply of bubble liquid on the ring has been exhausted. The hold on forward grip 16 then is momentarily relaxed to drop the bubble ring into the bubble liquid, and on again squeezing the fo1ward grip the bubble ring is again raised to firing position.

In thp preferred form shown, the gun has an enlarged breech portion 32 between the barrel i2 and the stock 14. A simulated trigger 34 and trigger guard 36 may be provided beneath the breech portion. The grip 16 is generally upright. The top of the gun is longitudinally slotted at 38, and the rear of grip 16 is slotted at 40. The forward part 20 of the lever may be stiffened by means of a flange 42, giving the lever a T-shaptd crosssection, but in such case the stiffening flange is preferably omitted from the rear portion 22 and also from the part 44 between pivot 24- and the top of the barrel, so that the slots 38 and 46 may be narrow, say one-eighth inch in width.

To provide the desired sustained stream of air, I prefer to employ a blower. This comprises a generally circular housing 56 (Fig. 2) with a discharge outlet at 52. In Fig. 2 the impeller has been omitted, but this is shown at 54 in Fig. 6. It comprises a back plate 58 (Fig. 7) on which the impeller vanes 66 are mounted, most simply by molding the parts 68 and 60 integrally. Air enters at the center of the rotor through openings indicated at 62 in Figs. 7 and 10. l

A single molded housing is used as a gear housing as well as a blower housing, and referring to Fig. 7, it will be seen that the housing extends from the side wall 64 to the opposite side wall 66 of the gun, and has a vertical partition 68, with the blower housing 56 on one side of the partition, and the gearing carried on the opposite side of the partition. In effect, the blower housing is completed on one side by the wall 64, and the gear housing is completed on the other side by the wall 66.

The drive means in the present case is crank operated, and for this purpose I provide a crank shaft 79 which is bent to form a crank 72 on which a handle 74 may be placed. Crank 76 carries a main gear 76. This meshes with an intermediate pinion and gear combination 78, 86, and gear 80 meshes with a pinion 82 on the impeller shaft. In the particular case here shown the impeller and its shaft 84 and pinion 82 are all integrally molded, typically out of a plastics material. The hole 86 through the partition may be made a large clearance hole, and the ends of the shaft may be carried in metal eyelets 88 secured in holes in the side walls 64 and 66 of the gun.

The crank shaft 76 is carried in bearings formed in partition 68 and wall 66. I

The intermediate pinion and gear combination also is carried in bearings formed in partition 68 and wall 66, and in this case the bearings are generally upright slots rather than round bearings. One of these slots is shown at 90 in Fig. 2, and the other is shown at 92 in Fig. 8. The slots permit an upward movement from the solid line position 86 to the broken line position 89, and they afford an overrunning or free wheeling action, so that the impeller may continue to spin at high speed when the crank is stopped after being turned. On the other hand when the crank is being turned, the direction of rotation is such as to ensure meshing of the gears.

More specifically the impeller 54 and the crank 72 turn counterclockwise, as viewed in Figs. 2, 6, and 8. The intermediate compound gear 78, 86 turns clockwise, as viewed in Fig. 8. Gear 76, when turned counterclockwise, moves the intermediate gear downward into meshing relation with the gears '76 and 82. If the crank or closed at the top.

were turned in opposite direction, the intermediate gear would be raised out of mesh, and the crank would idle, so that the drive is a one-way drive. When the crank is turned counterclockwise to spin the impeller, and the crank then is stopped, the impeller continues to spin by inertia, and it causes the intermediate gear to ride upward out of mesh, so that the impeller can overrun.

In the particular form here shown the gun is manufactured almost wholly out of plastics materials. The gun body is made of two main halves divided on the central vertical plane of the gun. These two halves are provided with appropriate locating pins or dowels. One such dowel connection is shown in Fig. 5 with the left end of a male part 114 received in the right end of a female part 116. These are located at 114 in Fig. 2 along the front wall of the bubble liquid container 18. Others are located around the periphery of the gun as shown in Fig. 2. The halves of the gun are cemented together with the blower and gear housing therebetween. For this purpose the side wall 64 may be provided with a spacer stud 94 (Fig. 7), and the side wall 66 may be provided with a spacer stud 96 (Fig. 9). Referring now to Figs. 3 and 4, the sides of the gun similarly may have integrally molded bearings 98 for the trunnions 100 of dip lever 20, 22.

In Figs. 1 and 2 a pair of upright ears 102 are pro vided above the muzzle of the gun. These somewhat simulate a sight for the gun, but a spaced pair of ears are provided instead of one, because they act as a locating means to ensure proper location and support of the lever when it is in its down position.

The bubble container preferably is partially covered Its rear portion 104 is covered, and the protection against spillage may be increased by a vertical partition 106. The forward edge also has a lip 108 for the same purpose.

In Figs. 1 and 2, attention is directed to the small base or platform 110 which is molded integrally with the forward grip 16. This serves to support the gun in upright position when rested on a table, the gun then resting on base 110 and the lower rear corner 112 of the stock 14. This is of great convenience in preventing spillage of bubble liquid from the container when the gun is not in use. It is stood upright instead of being laid on its side.

In the particular example of the invention shown, the plastics material used is styrene. The crank shaft and handle is bent out of metal rod. The bearing eyelets are made of metal, but except for these few metal parts, the entire gun is made out of molded plastics material, and any suitable plastics material may be used in lieu of styrene.

It is believed that the construction and method of use of my improved bubble gun as well as the advantages thereof, will be apparent from the foregoing detailed description. It will also be apparent that while I have shown and described my invention in a preferred form, changes may be made in the structure shown without departing from the scope of the invention as sought to be defined in the following claims.

1. A bubble gun comprising a gun body simulating a barrel having a muzzle, a stock, and a forward grip beneath the forward part of the barrel, a container for bubble liquid beneath the muzzle, a lever having a forward part overlying the barrel and a rear part passing downwardly through the barrel and said forward grip, a pivot for said lever, a bubble ring fixed on the forward end of the lever ahead of the muzzle, the rear part of said lever projecting at least partially from the grip when the forward part is down and said rear part being movable into the grip to raise the forward part when the grip is squeezed by one hand, the proportioning of the parts being such that the bubble ring is moved be tween a down position immersed in the container and an up position in front of the muzzle, a rotatable blower means to blow air through the barrel of the gun, and means so located as to be operable by the other hand to cause operation of said blower.

2. A bubble gun comprising a gun body simulating a submachine gun with a barrel having a muzzle, a stock, a simulated trigger beneath the breech portion, and a generally upright forward grip beneath the forward part of the barrel, a container for bubble liquid beneath the muzzle, a lever having a forward part overlying the bar-. rel and a rear part passing downwardly through the barrel and said forward grip, a pivot for said lever intermediate the forward and rear parts, a bubble ring fixed on the forward end of the lever ahead of the muzzle, the rear part of said lever being generally upright and projecting at least partially behind the grip when the forward part is down and said rear part being movable into the grip to raise the forward part when the grip is squeezed by one hand, the proportioning of the parts being such that the bubble ring is moved between a down position immersed in the container and an up position in front of the muzzle, a rotatable blower means to blow air through the barrel of the gun, and means so located as to be operable by the other hand to cause operation of said blower.

3. A bubble gun comprising a gun body simulating a barrel having a muzzle, a stock, an enlarged breech portion between the barrel and the stock, and a forward grip beneath the forward part of the barrel, a container for bubble liquid beneath the muzzle, a lever having a forward part overlying the barrel and a rear part passing downwardly through the barrel and said forward grip, a pivot for said lever, a bubble ring fixed on the forward end of the lever ahead of the muzzle, the rear part of said lever projecting at least partially from the grip when the forward part is down and said rear part being movable into the grip to raise the forward part when the grip is squeezed by one hand, the proportioning of the parts being such that the bubble ring is moved between a down position immersed in the container and an up position in front of the muzzle, a blower housing in the breech portion, an impeller rotor in said housing for blowing a continuous sustained stream of air through the barrel of the gun, and a crank so located as to be operable by the other hand to drive said impeller.

4. A bubble gun comprising a gun body including a barrel having a muzzle and an enlarged breech portion, a container for bubble liquid beneath the muzzle, a lever having a forward part along the barrel, a bubble ring fixed on the forward end of the lever ahead of the muzzle, means operable to raise the forward part, the proportioning of the parts being such that the bubble ring is moved between a down position immersed in the container and an up position in the breech portion, a blower housing in the breech portion, an impeller rotor in said housing for blowing a continuous sustained stream of air through the barrel of the gun, and means to drive said impeller, said means comprising a crank, a gear on said crank, an intermediate pinion and gear movable in slotted bearings, and a pinion on said impeller, said slotted bearings affording an overrunning or free wheelmg action.

5. A bubble gun comprising a gun body simulating a gun with a barrel having a muzzle, a stock, an enlarged breech portion between the barrel and the stock, and a generally upright forward grip beneath the barrel, a container for bubble liquid beneath the muzzle, a lever having a forward part overlying the barrel and a rear part passing downwardly through the barrel and forward grip, a pivot for said lever, a bubble ring fixed on the forward end of the lever ahead of the muzzle, the rear part of said lever projecting at least partially from the grip when the forward part is down and said rear part being movable into the grip to raise the forward part when the grip is squeezed, the proportioning of the parts being such that the bubble ring is moved between a down position immersed in the container and an up position in front of the muzzle, a blower housing in the breech portion, an impeller rotor in said housing for blowing a continuous sustained stream of air through the barrel of the gun, and means to drive said impeller, said means comprising a crank, a gear on said crank, an intermediate pinion and gear movable in slotted bearings, and a pinion on said impeller, said slotted bearings affording an overrunning or free wheeling action.

6. A bubble gun as defined in claim 1 in which the gun has means acting as a base to hold the gun with the container upright to prevent spillage of bubble liquid when the gun is set down.

7. A bubble gunas defined in claim 3 in which the gun has means acting as a base to hold the gun with the container upright to prevent spillage of bubble liquid when the gun is set down.

8. A bubble gun as defined in claim 4 in which the gun has means acting as a base to hold the gun with the container upright to prevent spillage of bubble liquid when the gun is set down.

9. A bubble gun as defined in claim 2 in which the lower end of the forward grip has means acting as a base to hold the gun with the container upright to prevent spillage of bubble liquid when the gun is set down.

10. A bubble gun as defined in claim 5 in which the lower end of the forward grip has means acting as a base to hold the gun with the container upright to prevent spillage of bubble liquid when the gun is set down.

11. A bubble gun comprising a gun body simulating a gun with a barrel having a muzzle, a stock, an enlarged breech portion between the barrel and the stock,

and a generally upright forward grip beneath the barrel, a container for bubble liquid beneath the muzzle, a lever having a forward part along the barrel and a rear part passing downwardly at the forward grip, a pivot for said lever, a bubble ring fixed on the. forward end of the lever ahead of the muzzle, the rear part of said lever projecting at least partially from the grip when the forward part is down and said rear part being movable into registration with the grip to raise the forward part when the grip is squeezed, the proportioning of the parts being such that the bubble ring is moved between a down position immersed in the container and an up position in front of the muzzle, a gear and blower housing in the breech portion, an impeller rotor in said housing for blowing a continuous sustained stream of air through the barrel of the gun, and means including a gear train and a crank at the right side of the gun to drive said impeller.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,393,039 Gilchrist Jan. 15, 1946 2,412,732 Holman Dec. 17, 1946 2,560,582 Limber July 17, 1951 2,700,845 Arliss Feb. 1, 1955 

